


Across the Way

by apricotzel



Category: The Strange Case of Starship Iris (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29457990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apricotzel/pseuds/apricotzel
Summary: “Crushing on the girl running the flower shop does not mean I like capitalism.”Arkady’s a barista in a small coffee shop. Across the street, a certain florist catches her eye. Sana asks for a favor.
Relationships: Violet Liu/Arkady Patel
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Across the Way

**Author's Note:**

> This entire fic is just Brian, Krejjh, and Sana teasing Arkady for being gay. Zero percent of it is realistic. A hundred percent of it is gay.

It was raining, again. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. It rained a lot in the city, and Arkady didn’t like it, to be honest.

It wasn’t that the rain was bad or anything, it was just there was so  _ much _ of it. It drove away customers, no one wanted to go and walk out in the cold when they can just put on a kettle at home. Sure, on sunny days when there are crowds milling around, someone may be in a social mood. Or many someones. The independently-run cafe didn’t pull astounding numbers, sure, but there was a certain charm to a small business. Especially if owning that small business was a spit in the face to the bigger flower shop across the street, run by a large company that bought and bought until there was nothing left to buy. This small coffee shop stood there right by its front door, a nagging reminder that ‘Hey! You can’t have this!’

Arkady was staring at that flower shop across the street now. It was painted a dull gray that seemed to bleed into the rain-soaked sidewalk, with small windows that would usually have plants resting on the window sills, if not for the wind battering them relentlessly. There was cartoonishly painted ivy curling around the door, chipped and peeling away. She thought it was stupid, if you’re a flower shop why not use actual ivy? What? You can’t control it? And you call yourself a florist. 

Peering in through the windows revealed large fluorescent lights on the ceiling, soaking the entire interior and everyone in it in a cold, washed-out, look. Devoid of any sort of emotion. The plants were nice enough, Arkady guessed. She wasn’t a plant person. She didn’t like flowers too much. Inside a few employees were milling around. Their faces were familiar, especially the shorter, cute girl inside. Arkady has a vivid memory of her opening the door only to see the rain pouring down and sighing like it was the worst thing in the world. With a small pout that Arkady had to squint to see, the mystery florist gathered the outside plants and headed inside. Her coworkers didn’t seem that close to her. 

The entire color scheme of the flower shop contrasted with the cafe, with its own warmer pallet. Arkady thought of it as cozy, like a little pocket entirely away from the universe, a bonus that it was pretty small and empty most of the time. 

“Y’know, Arkady, for someone who supposedly hates that flower shop, you sure do spend a lot of your day staring at it,” A soft voice cut through Arkady’s thoughts, carrying an endearing know-it-all tone.

Arkady’s eyes flicked over to Brian, who sat there giving her a knowing and teasing smile. 

“What?” Arkady said, straightening up from where she had been leaning on the counter, “Don’t blame me. There’s nothing else to do around here. Not on rainy days.”

Brian inclined his head towards his empty coffee cup, “Yeah, that excuse isn’t gonna work because I asked you for more coffee, like, five minutes ago, dude.”

“How much coffee have you even had today?”

“That’s a secret between me and any sort of God that exists.”

“You are so cryptic sometimes,” Arkady said, snatching up the empty mug. The dried coffee had sat too long around the bottom, so she just poured some water in it and set it aside to wash, and grabbed a new mug, calling over her shoulder, “Why are you even here right now? It’s not like you work here.”

“I’m waiting for Krejjh! This is our designated meet-up spot! We’re more consistent than you, we might as well work here!”

Arkady rolled her eyes as she made Brian’s order, already knowing it off the top of her head.

Going back to him, she slid him the coffee across the counter, to which he caught perfectly, and turned back to his laptop. 

“So,” He continued, “Why do you stare at that flower shop so much?”

Arkady shrugged, “It’s there? To have something to look at? To compare our shops? To fuel my burning hatred for big businesses?”

Brian hummed absentmindedly, “And nothing to do with the florist that you always stare at?”

“No,” Arkady answered, before adding on “Wait, what? What florist? I don’t stare at the florist!”

“I’m just saying,” Brian continued, “For someone who hates everyone that works there, you seem to look at her the most.”

“Uh, yeah, because I hate her. Duh.”

“Where even is she? Usually, she’s flitting around at the front of the shop, taking care of the plants.”

“She brings them in on rainy days, scared of the pots blowing over and breaking, I think.”

“Hm,” Brian said, glancing at Arkady from over the top of his laptop, “What a weirdly specific thing to know about someone you supposedly hate.”

“Shut up,” Arkady bristled, “Go back to your linguistics work, or whatever.”

“Nah, my partner just got here,” Brian said, shrugging.

Right on time, the door chimed as Krejjh walked in. They wore a long raincoat, to which they took off the hood and shook their body around a bit, spraying water everywhere. 

“It’s raining cats and mice out there,” Krejjh said, walking up to the counter to where Brian and Arkady were. 

“Cats and dogs?” Arkady corrected, raising an eyebrow.

Krejjh frowned, “I like dogs too much for that. But I also like cats. And mice. Hm. It’s raining a lot, is what I’m getting at.”

Arkady nods solemnly while Krejjh kisses Brian’s cheek and he greets them. 

“What are we talking about?” Krejjh asks, sliding into the stool next to their partner.

“Arkady’s crush on the florist across the street,” Brian responds without pause. 

“Ooo!” Krejjh responds, “The really sweet girl who waves at everyone who passes?”

As Brian nodded Arkady rolls her eyes. “I do not have a crush on that florist girl! I don’t even know her name!”

“It’s Violet Liu!” Krejjh responds as if it was common knowledge. 

Arkady and Brian look at them. “How do you know?” They ask in sync.

Krejjh shrugs, “I did some vague research when I was bored and kind of thought we were going to sue them that one time. There’s Violet Liu, who’s actually a botanist, so it makes sense she likes flowers. There’s also RJ McCabe, who’s new and I think they’re only in it because their family has a history of working under the company that owns that shop. And Jin-Seong Park, I think, who’s probably worked there the longest.”

Arkady blinked, trying to bring in all that information.

“Wait, so they only have three employees?” Brian asked.

“Three  _ extremely overqualified _ employees!” Krejjh added.

“I mean, to be fair, we only have two,” A new voice joined the fray, and Arkady jumped as she realized Sana had somehow snuck up behind her.

“If only we had two friends who visit the shop every day who would be great to work with, and would help improve the experience of owning and running a whole shop,” Sana continued, looking pointedly at Krejjh and Brian. Arkady fought the urge to roll her eyes again. Despite the begging, Arkady knew that Sana would never want the two of them to attach themselves to this dingy shop if they didn’t want to. However nice it would be, Sana wants the best for them. She wouldn’t make them do something they didn’t like. Even if it meant that one day they might lose the business. But Sana would rather go bankrupt or die than get bought out. Sana wouldn’t give up. Sana would never.

“I’m thinking about it, I’m thinking about it!” Krejjh says while Brian nods in agreement.

“Anyways, why are we all gathered around here?” Sana asked.

“We are making fun of Arkady’s crush on Violet Liu,” Krejjh informs.

“Who?” Sana asks

“The cute florist across the way, the nice one? Chinese, short, looks like she gives great hugs?” Brian adds on.

“The one who looks like she actually cares about the plants?” Sana asked, to which they all nodded. Sana turned to Arkady, “Falling for the enemy? And here I thought you hated big businesses and capitalism.”

“Crushing on the girl running the flower shop does not mean I like capitalism,” Arkady justifies.

“So you admit it?”

“...Fuck.”

Sana laughs at this, while Brian and Krejjh smirk at each other like they’re both masterminds.

“Soooo…” Krejjh says, before leaning in close, “How do we convince the florist to ditch the big bad wolf and come work with us?”

“What?” Arkady says, looking at Krejjh like they grew another head, “Where did-why? Huh?”

“Well, obviously, ‘Kady, we’re not gonna let you pine for the  _ enemy _ so we have to make her one of us,” Sana says as if it’s obvious.

“You’re all ridiculous,” Arkady says, “This wouldn’t even work. She likes plants and works at a flower shop, why would she come over here?”

“Because we’re nicer, more fun, and have a better vibe?” Brian offers.

“You can’t exactly combine plants and coffee,” Arkady says.

“Why not?” Sana asked, a small smile creeping onto her face. Arkady had a bad feeling about it. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was sunny. Thank God, it was sunny. Violet always liked the sun better. After a few rainstorms, these sunny weeks had felt like a blessing to her. It means she was able to stay outside, out of the harsh buzzing lights that made her feel ill, out of the range of security cameras, and out of the range of her coworkers. 

Don’t get her wrong, she liked her coworkers, but there was only so much awkward silence and stiff conversations she could manage. They were impossible to get a read on, she never knew what they were thinking. She would much rather tend to plants outside, smiling at strangers and not have to worry about what plants thought about her.

But there were fewer strangers to smile at recently. The coffee shop across the street was renovating, moving things around, and creating a ruckus. Violet wasn’t too mad about it, per se, it was a relief to not have to deal with so many customers with their staff of three people, but it was annoying and distracting as well. 

It was even more distracting when one morning one of them approached her. 

Violet was outside, lost in her own world when a soft “Excuse me,” snapped her out of it.

She turned to see a woman standing there. Her smile was kind, but her stance and the way she carried herself gave Violet the impression she knew what she was here for.

Violet flashed a soft smile, “How can I help you?”

“My name is Sana Tripathi, I run the coffee shop across the street. If you noticed, we’re redecorating. I was wondering if you were able to come to see and tell us what kind of plants you think would fit the building? I know that’s not your job,” She added on at the look of Violet’s confused face, “But you probably know plants better than anyone else we know. We can guess what kind might look good, but there’s a bunch of other factors we don’t know about, temperature, watering, you get the idea.”

“Uhm,” Violet started, taken by complete surprise, “I don’t- well- I can’t leave my shift, you see. I’m- I’m sorry.”

Sana’s smile turned sad, “I understand, I understand. I didn’t think you’d be able to leave just like that, but it was worth a shot. Sorry for bothering you.”

As she turned to go, Violet reached out and gently grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. “My-my shift ends at 7:00 if-if you will have me, maybe after I can go take a look?”

Sana blinked in surprise, “Oh, oh of course! That’s amazing, thank you! I’ll have someone come to bring you over then. Thank you so much, how much do you want for it?”

“Oh,” Violet waved her hand, “I’ll do it for free. Don’t even worry about it.”

Sana nods, “Really? God, thank you so much. You really are a saint.”

Violet nods as well, still a little confused, “Yeah, yeah no problem!”

And so Sana Tripathi walked away, and Violet stood there, watching the form enter the smaller shop, turning to talk to some other customers there. 

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, but Violet kept thinking about Sana, and the small coffee shop across the street. It was an odd request, no doubt, but it didn’t put Violet on edge as most things did. In fact, she was almost looking forward to it. She had never actually been to the small coffee shop, with its hand-painted sign displaying  _ Rumor _ as its name. A nice name, for a coffee shop. Contrasted well with the flower shop  _ Iris _ . Violet liked to think of their two shops as friendly rivals, even if the Rumor didn’t view them as such. She almost went as far as to think about them as friends, despite not knowing anyone there. There was just a certain tension of owning a shop across the street from another, or maybe Violet’s just a pining sapphic. 

At 7, when her shift ended, Violet began to close up shop. She had just locked the door and was leaning against one of the front walls, anxiously flipping her phone in her hand. She was worried, maybe she was supposed to head over there, and she misunderstood Sana. She looked up, just about to head over there herself when she saw someone walking towards her.

She wasn’t Sana, this figure was shorter than Sana. Leaner, too, with a much more athletic build. They glanced up and Violet pointedly ignored the way her breath caught in her throat.

“Are you Violet Liu?” She asked, but the way she did it made Violet think maybe she already knew she was. When Violet nodded she didn’t smile or react in any way. Quickly turned around and made a motion with her hand that indicated Violet should follow, calling over her shoulder. “Name’s Arkady Patel.”

Violet followed quickly to keep up with Arkady’s brisk pace. They crossed the street quickly, Arkady not even sparing a glance while Violet constantly turned her head from side to side. 

The door let out a soft jingle as they walked through it, much nicer to hear than their own automated beep. The Rumor was different from the Iris, to say the least. ‘Warm’ is the first thought popping into Violet’s mind. Small, and cozy. The lamps had these shades on them that bathed the entire establishment in soft orange light, making it feel like the entire place was a sunset. The booths and tables were close to each other, not enough to feel claustrophobic, but close enough to feel connected. It was as if the placement itself encouraged sitters to mingle. There were stools by the counter as well, and Violet could easily picture a soft murmuring of the cafe flowing through the picture when it was open.

Behind the counter stood Sana, and sitting on the stools were two other people. Violet didn’t see any sort of uniform on them but didn’t see it as her place to ask why they were there.

“There’s our flower girl!” Sana said happily when Arkady and Violet walked in. 

Violet flashed a shy grin, looking around at the shop some more. There were some nooks in the walls, places where Violet could easily see plants being placed for decoration. She wondered how many they wanted.

Sana walked over the counter and shook her hand firmly, “Welcome to the Rumor, my small little coffee shop.” She paused before leaning in a bit closer, “‘Kady didn’t scare you off, did she?”

Violet let out a soft, surprised laugh “Wh-? No, no she was very nice.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Violet saw Arkady glance away quickly, and a brief pang of fear that she said something wrong crossed through her. But none of the other people seemed to notice, as Sana leaned back and gestured at the two other people.

“This is Brian and Krejjh,” she said, “They don’t work here, but they’re friends of ours, so they’re obviously welcome to stay as long as they like.”

Violet nodded and waved at the pair, who smiled and waved back enthusiastically. 

“So,” Violet started, “What kind of plants were you thinking of?”

The evening passed as they chatted, mostly about plants but somehow they began drifting towards other topics, winding up on what working at the Iris was like. 

“Wait, you work from 7 ‘till 7?” Brian asked, incredulous.

Violet nodded, mentally agreeing with the shocked reaction of the people surrounding her. “Five days a week.”

“That’s insane!” Arkady chimed in, “That’s twelve hours at a fuckin’ flower shop! I hate 9 ‘till 5!”

“You work a 9 ‘till 5,” Krejjh pointed out.

“Yeah, but y’know I think now I might be a little more thankful,” Arkady said, “What time do you get up? What time do you sleep?”

“Oh, I get up about 6 AM and sleep at 10, it’s quite manageable,” Violet says.

“You call having 4 hours of free time a day ‘manageable’?” Sana says, disgust dripping from her voice, “You’re working like a dog, that’s awful.”

Violet sighs, “It’s a living. Some other shops have even worse hours. I’m just glad I could get something involving something I enjoy, yeah? I studied botany, and it’s a miracle I somehow ended up working with plants.”

“Is that your only want with a job? Plants?” Arkady said, sounding a bit judgy.

“Well,” Violet reached to defend herself, “I mean, my coworkers are decent. They treat me well. Sure, the hours aren’t the best, but it pays well!”

Arkady held up a hand, “I didn’t mean that in an aggressive way, I just mean if plants are basically the only reason you like that place, why don’t you go find a job with better hours  _ and _ plants? One that will treat you like an actual human? With life and worth outside of a job?”

Violet paused, considering this before shrugging. “I don’t know any other places. Besides, I’ve worked with the Iris so long it seems...odd to leave it.”

“Stockholm syndrome,” Krejjh whispered, audible enough for everyone to hear.

Violet paused before bursting out into laughter at this, the rest joining in. As the laughing died down, Violet shrugged, “I mean, I guess so. Some odd sort of loyalty for an admittedly shitty company.”

Sana made a noise of sympathy before reaching over and giving Violet’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Do you want any coffee? Something to drink?”

Violet says no automatically, “I don’t have any money on me-”

“Nonsense,” Sana said, “On the house.”

Violet pauses. “Are you-are you sure?”

“We’re always sure,” Arkady says as she gets up. “Now, how do you like your coffee?”

“Wait, I want some too,” Krejjh pouts.

“Me as well,” Brian chimes in.

Sana and Arkady sigh simultaneously as they get to work. A few minutes later and Arkady is sitting next to Violet, as Sana, Brian, and Krejjh are sucked into some conversation. (Something about raining cats and dogs, Violet wasn’t paying attention).

Arkady and Violet talked about their jobs. Arkady was telling Violet about certain techniques on how to make coffee, to which Violet was listening intently. She didn’t understand all of it, sure, but it was nice hearing Arkady talk about something she was passionate about. Her hands moved around when she talked as if she was presenting or showing how to do it. Her lips moved fast, but she didn’t trip up on her words much, it was almost impressive. The soft orange glow of light above her made her look a bit like an angel. Each strand of her hair was illuminated, and her facial structure more defined. The creases of her clothes moved with her as she shifted like light itself talked.

Violet snapped back to reality, realizing she had been zoning out. Luckily, Arkady didn’t seem to notice or notice the heat rising to Violet’s face as she tried to unsuspiciously bury her face in her hands.

“So,” Arkady said after a while, “You work with plants right? Well like, obviously I know that, but you’re good with them, right? I see you, walking around outside. You take care of them well, you like them.”

Violet nods eagerly, “Of course I do. They’re so spectacular that they have to be treated well and loved.”

“And, no offense to anyone else here, of course, but I really don’t think we’re plant experts of any sort.”

“So...so you don’t want the plants?”  
“What? No- Liu, I’m saying that if you ever want a job with better hours, better coworkers, _and_ plants, you could- you could work with us you know?” Arkady trailed off, staring down into her mug as she said the last part. 

Violet paused, taken by surprise. “I - well - I- Sana?” She managed to get out.

Arkady threw a quick look over her shoulder at Sana, who was still engaged in a deep debate with Brian and Krejjh. “We’ve, uh, we’ve actually talked about it before. Finding more staff. I’m sure she’d be fine with it. You don’t have to answer now,” Arkady added on quickly when Violet still looked a little distressed, “You can think about it. Plus, you’d be able to work with me.” Arkady adds the last part in a joking tone, flashing a sly smirk and hooking her thumb toward herself.

Violet laughs, soft and airy, before staring down at the counter as she feels her face flush again. Even if Arkady said that sarcastically, it  _ was _ a compelling factor.

“I’ll think about it,” Violet finally says when she feels she can talk again, looking up, “I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Arkady says, meeting her gaze. The two hold it for a second, maybe a second too long, before someone’s watch beeps.

“Uh, oh, Vi,” Brian says teasingly. “It’s your bedtime.” He holds up his wristwatch to show a flashing 10:00 PM. 

“Boo!” Krejjh says, “Why did you have to tell her? It’s super fun with her here.”

Violet smiles at this, a warm feeling of belonging swelling inside her, “Thanks, but he is right. I do have work tomorrow. Thank you, Brian.”

She stands, hoisting her bag over her shoulder, “Thank you all for having me,” She says out of habit.

“Thanks for helping us with our plant problem,” Arkady says back.

“There won’t be a problem unless you don’t listen to my advice,” Violet warns playfully.

“Thank you though,” Sana chimes in, “And if you ever want to come back after hours, you’re just as welcome as Krejjh and Brian.”

“So, very welcomed, to clarify,” Krejjh adds.

Violet laughs again. She’s done that a lot tonight. “Thanks, I’ll think about the offer.”

Brian, Krejjh, and Sana might have thought she was talking about the offer to come back, but from the way Arkady’s mouth tugged upwards, Violet thinks she understood the true meaning of what she said. 

She heads off into the cool night, hurrying to catch a bus on her way home. The sky overhead was cloudy, a heavy promise of rain for tomorrow. Usually, Violet would sigh in disappointment. But tonight? All she can think about is the coffee shop across the way. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can tell I've never had a job before 


End file.
